Under the Weather
by 101Obsessions
Summary: Cylara and her family decide to take Gorix with them on holiday - and the Grundo discovers weather for the first time! Pairings: Mild Gorix/Cylara. Complete!
1. Intro Cloud Cover

_Okay, my first Neopets fanfic that I've uploaded :) A little idea I had, concerning the fact that Grundos come from space, and, as the Weather Page knows well, 'There is no weather in space'. So, what if Gorix got dragged down to Neopia by his hyper and crazy work partner, and saw the effects of weather for the first time?_

_Sorry if the writing doesn't make sense - I often write stuff that seems complete gibberish, but it makes sense in my head :P_

_You probably have to have read '_The Return of Dr Sloth' _plot comic in order to understand this. For those who haven't and are reading anyways: Gorix is a v. serious Grundo (aka Alien) who has spent his entire life in space, defending his planet from the evil Dr Sloth, a mad scientist who wants to take over. Cylara is a Cybunny (rabbit anthro) and Gorix's work partner, a hyper 15-yr-old civilian who helped save the world during the RoS plot, who lives on the planet's surface._

_This story is set about a year or two after the events of RoS, where Cylara and Gorix have been working together. I guessed a little of Cylara's happy-go-lucky nature would have rubbed off on Gorix by now, but not too much. He's still waaay serious. Cylara decides a holiday would be good for him._

* * *

**Intro**

Gorix had been innocently sitting on an old pile of spaceship parts in some abandoned corner of the Hangar bay and drinking the contents of a tube of Garthroxian Goo, when Cylara glomped him from behind.

"Hai Gorix!" She yelled in his ear.

Once he had recovered from the shock of having a young Cybunny leap onto his back, which had resulted in him inhaling most of his drink, Gorix smiled at her.

"Hullo. I guess you're off on leave then?"

She grinned widely.

"Yep. Oh, and by the way: say yes."

"Yes." There was a pause, then Gorix frowned suspiciously. "What am I agreeing to?"

He never got an answer, as she shrieked with delight and grabbed his arm before setting off in a run, dragging the unfortunate Grundo after her. Gorix would have called to her to slow down, but he was too busy trying to keep his balance.

The two skid to a halt in front of one of the huge silvery-white transits that shuttled pets to and from the Station. This one had a neon green sign above the front window, displaying its destination: Neopia Central.

The Cybunny glomped him again, around the throat this time. Cylara was shrieking, and after a moment Gorix picked out words.

"He said yes he said yes he said yes - that means we can take him!"

There came the sound of a chuckle.

"So I can see. Let him go Cylara, he needs to breathe."

The young Cybunny looked down and realised she had been hugging Gorix so tightly his face was turning – wait, what colour does a blue person go if you choke them?

Anyway, she let go and the Grundo slumped to the floor, sucking in gulps of air. He straightened up and greeted the man who had saved him from an unfortunate end.

"Good morning, sir. And, er, thanks."

Cylara's father laughed.

"She's just excited. She gets like it a lot."

His eyes were drawn to a Rotawheel had that darted between his legs. His face lit up, and Gorix was reminded quite forcefully of Cylara.

"Fascinating! I wonder how it's powered..."

He set off after the Rotawheel and attempted to catch it, but it zoomed away from his outstretched fingers with a panicked buzzing sound. Cylara's father was undeterred – he merely laughed and started to chase it around the Hanger, determined to catch it and unlock its secrets.

"I can't imagine where she gets it from," said a voice from behind Gorix.

Cylara's mother had stepped out from the transit, and she was regarding her husband with a smile and a twinkle in her pink eyes. She smiled down at Gorix.

"Hello, dear. All set?"

Gorix blinked, surprised.

"All set for what?"

Cylara giggled.

"I kinda didn't tell you – we're taking you with us on holiday! And before you start going on," she said loudly, cutting across Gorix, who had just opened his mouth, "I've already cornered Valka and convinced him to give you some time off. Well, it took some convincing, and I only really got you a weekend off, but that's enough, isn't it? So you're coming with us down to Neopia. And I've already packed a bag for you, so there."

Gorix slumped. He knew when he was defeated – it would be pointless to disagree with her. Years of work at her side had taught him to just go with whatever mad scheme she had planned.

The Cybunny in question beamed, and began dragging him onto the transit. Cylara's mother turned to follow, when she realised her husband was still preoccupied with the robotic petpet. She turned and called to him.

"Simon, would you put that silly Rotawheel down and get in? The transit's going to leave without you, and it's the last one this week. If you don't get on, by the time the next one goes we'll have already come back. Now, come on."

The male Cybunny obeyed, a disappointed look on his face. He slid into the seat beside Gorix, looking very much like a boy caught with his hand in the biscuit tin.

"If only I had a little more time – I might have figured out the secrets..." He went off into almost inaudible muttering about power supplies and electronics.

Gorix leant back into the hard plastic of his seat. He might as well get comfortable, now he'd been shanghaied into yet another of Cylara's madcap schemes. Although, he supposed, he guessed it probably _was _about time he took a holiday.

When you'd gotten to the stage where you were doodling rocket ships on the dossier you were trying to read, it was a definite sign you'd been working too hard.

* * *

**Chapter 1 – Cloud Cover**

Gorix had been fine, all the while they were travelling in space. True, he was used to flying much faster than this, and being at the helm of his own ship, but; ignoring the instinct to go yell at the pilot to get there before Christmas; he was almost enjoying himself.

It was fun to watch Cylara bouncing around the cabin in her excitement, annoying the hell out of the other passengers, who glared at her over their copies of the Neopian Times. It was entertaining to listen to Cylara's parents bicker playfully about Simon's new hobby of collecting anything vaguely electronic. And it was, indeed, quite enjoyable to sit with his partner at the porthole and teach her the names of all the different stars and galaxies they could see, and learn about the names given to the constellations by Neopians.

It wasn't quite so fun when they entered Neopia's atmosphere.

Grundo antennae, if you didn't know, are extremely sensitive. No one is entirely sure what they are for, but they are useful. They certainly helped miners detect the sound of a rock fall underground from miles away.

But with the sudden changes in pressure inside the cabin, Gorix was clutching his own antennae and cursing whoever decided Grundos should have antennae in the first place. Cylara's mother helpfully gave him a barley sugar, but he was still in pain by the time they reached the troposphere.

Cylara started to giggle, and he opened his eyes to glare at her for laughing at him, when he realised she was staring out of the porthole. She turned to grin at him.

"Look, Gorix! All those clouds!"

Gorix looked. Then wished he hadn't.

It had suddenly occurred to him that they were now flying through a place where Gravity was in full effect. If the ship lost power at this point, they would simply accelerate faster and faster downwards until something broke their fall.

Sure, that was a fear quite a lot of people got when flying. To someone who had lived their entire lives in space, where the worst that could happen during a power cut was that you drifted off of your course until someone turned up to give you a hand – annoying, but not exactly life threatening – the idea was terrifying.

When the world turned white outside the windows, Gorix curled up in his seat, covered his eyes, and waited for the end.

Through the fear, he felt a vague annoyance at Cylara for giggling. He was trying to panic in peace, thank you very much. The least she could do was stop laughing and pointing out how high up they still were.

In about a half-hour, although it felt like an eternity to the young Grundo, the transit came to land on the runway at Neopia Central Station. Or, perhaps land wasn't the best word. _Bounce _would probably be more accurate.

When the ship came to a halt, an automated message stared up over the loudspeakers, thanking the passengers for using Air Neopia. Cylara's father smiled.

"Well, that was one of their better landings, I must say. Well, come along everyone."

People were standing to leave, collecting their bags from overhead lockers. Cylara turned to her Grundo companion, and was surprised to find him curled up in a ball.

"Er, Gorix? You alright?"

Gorix spoke up, muffled through his hands.

"I don't think I like flying much."

* * *

_Yay, Intro and First Chapter done :)_

_I'll be honest, I was using my little sister's fear of flying as a template for this. And the whole bouncing-landing thing - if you've ever been on a Ryanair flight, you probably know what I mean._

_If you like, you could press that shiny button below and review :P_


	2. Rain

**Chapter 2 – Rain**

It was afternoon by the time the four travellers reached the home of the Cybunny family, and early evening before Gorix felt well enough to emerge from the guest bedroom he'd been assigned.

He wandered out onto the landing, relieved that his dizziness had finally passed. As he made his way to the stairs and started to descend them, he made a mental note to never accept a trip to Neopia ever again.

He had barely taken a step into the family room before Cylara leapt upon him.

"Gorix! Are you feeling okay now? You're not dizzy any more, are you?"

Cylara's mother pulled the young girl away.

"Cylara, stop fussing all over him! He needs a little space."

Almost immediately, however, she started fussing herself, feeling his forehead and asking if he would like medicine or whether he just needed a good strong cup of tea.

Gorix felt himself blush. He could hardly remember his own parents, and certainly had no memory of ever being fussed over like this before. He looked around for help. It came from the figure of Cylara's father, who was sitting in an armchair across the room.

"Ladies, please. Give the poor lad a little room to breathe."

Cylara's mother fussily felt his forehead again, but then obeyed and went off to the kitchen. Gorix sank down into a cosy armchair with a sigh of relief. Despite her parents' warnings, Cylara hovered beside him.

"Are you sure you're feeling okay?"

The Grundo managed a smile.

"Yeah, much better, thanks." He blushed again. "I'm sorry."

The girl looked surprised.

"What for?"

"Making you all worry like that. Making a fool outta myself. It wasn't _that_ bad." He lied.

Cylara laughed and hugged him.

"Don't be silly. Now, come on, let's take your mind off of it."

She tugged at his arm and he reluctantly got up, following her through the kitchen and out into the garden.

Despite himself, he did look around with interest. Living on Kreludor and the Station had meant he'd never really seen a natural garden. Lots of potted plants, sure, but never flowers and grass growing straight out of the ground.

He bent over a rose, admiring it for a while. It seemed much nicer than the artificial flowers on the station, or those potted ones dotted around Resistance Headquarters. It smelt nicer too, although that might be because he was out of the sterile atmosphere of the Space Station.

Gorix took a deep breath, realising how clear and fresh the air was down here. He allowed himself a smile. Maybe there was something good about coming here.

Something cold and wet hit him hard on the top of the head. He leapt backwards with shock and collided, hard, with Cylara. She yelped, losing her balance, and the two ended up sprawled on the grass. The Cybunny sat up, annoyed.

"Gorix, what the hell are you doing?"

The Grundo wasn't listening. He touched the top of his head and felt a small wet patch of hair amongst the dry. He looked up with a frown.

He could see nothing above, if you excused those clouds that hovered ominously. For a moment, Gorix was at a loss to what could have hit him.

Something hit the patio at full speed, exploding into a splat of wet. Gorix got up and looked at it, frowning. As far as he could tell, it was water.

Cylara laughed suddenly.

"You've never been in the rain before, have you?"

Gorix was about to ask what rain was, when two things hit him simultaneously. Firstly, a memory of sitting in front of a computer screen, a teacher beside him explaining what was happening in the video he was watching: water cascading from the skies, soaking everything in sight. It was called 'Rain'. Secondly, a series of big, fat raindrops as the heavens opened.

Within seconds, the light drizzle had turned to torrential rain, soaking the two children through to their skin. Gorix tried to cover his head, but it was a futile attempt – he was drenched anyway.

Just as suddenly, the rain stopped, leaving a glistening wet world behind.

Cylara giggled nervously. Her fur was plastered to her skin, giving her a very odd appearance. She smiled apologetically at her friend.

"I should have warned you – the weather's a bit temperamental over here this time of the year."

Gorix glared at her. He was wet, and cold, and his clothing stuck to him when he moved.

He decided he didn't like rain.

* * *

_Two chapters in one day? Shock horror!_

_Lookit...there be a purtyfuls button down there...with big puppy-dog eyes saying 'Plz review!' :D_


	3. Wind

**Chapter 3 – Wind**

It was evening. Cylara's mother had insisted the two come inside and dry off – Gorix was only too happy to oblige – and told them to stay in the house while the huge, stormy-grey cloud blocked out the sky.

Gorix was sat in the guest bedroom, which was going to be his for the weekend, looking out of the window and wondering when he'd see the stars again. The cloud was like a huge, smothering blanket, blocking out the sight of Gorix's home. He'd never really given the Station much thought, but in hindsight he wished he was back there. Very little possibility of crashing to your death when you flew, and even less of getting drenched in ice-cold water.

He sighed and leant on the windowsill, then rested his chin on his folded arms. As the shuttle had been taking off this morning, Cylara had told him this little holiday would be full of new experiences for him. She'd been right. But that didn't mean the experiences necessarily were going to be pleasant.

He let his eyes wander over the landscape. Granted, he'd never seen Neopia from ground-level before. In fact, he'd never seen it before, except in picture books or the occasional video clip that he found from surfing the Resistance database. It was quite interesting, what with all the trees and grass and gravel paths, and all the buildings in the distance. Cylara's family home was situated fairly close to the Neopian Plaza, and from his window Gorix could see the sleek, rounded roof of the Headquarters of the Defenders of Neopia, and he wondered idly if he'd get enough time to visit it while he was here. It would be fascinating to see how another organisation dedicated to protecting Neopia worked. Although, he didn't have much respect for them at present – crappy green uniforms aside, at least the Resistance didn't prance around in spandex bodysuits and capes.

His gaze left the building and focused on something else. For a long time, he just stared at it blankly, before he realised something was wrong. Something was very wrong.

He sat up slowly, afraid he might provoke them if he made any sharp movements. Once he was upright, he found he didn't quite have the courage to get up and leave the room – what if they saw him?

He resorted to keeping perfectly still, eyes wide, watching their movements. They didn't seem to be moving _around, _exactly, just waving in the air, but that didn't mean they wouldn't hit out at any moment.

He heard the door open behind him.

"Hi, Gor-"

He shushed her, and she made a sound of indignant surprise. He nodded very discreetly at the object of his stare.

"Those trees...they're moving."

Cylara stepped up beside him and pressed her face against the window. To Gorix's annoyance, she looked curious and expectant instead of fearful. Then she frowned.

"Which trees?"

Gorix was getting really irritated now.

"_Those _ones. The ones right beneath your nose!"

Cylara tilted her head.

"I still don't see any- oh!"

Gorix nodded, expecting her to flinch away and look as scared as he felt, but she failed to match his predictions yet again. She laughed.

"Oh, Gorix, you're funny sometimes. Most of the time you're so serious, I forget you have a sense of humour."

She looked back at the trees with a grin.

"Albeit a weird one."

She turned to leave, when she caught Gorix's incredulous expression. Her face fell slightly.

"Oh. You are serious. Er..."

She frowned.

"How do I explain this...um, it's not the trees themselves that are actually moving, Gorix. The wind is making them move."

Gorix nodded slowly, then tilted his head in confusion.

"What's wind?"

She stared.

"O-kay, that's not the weirdest thing I've heard you say, but it ranks pretty high. Is it a joke, or something?"

Gorix smiled nervously.

"Um, I'm serious. What is wind?"

Cylara seemed to be trying to think of a way to explain it.

"You see, it's when air particles, er, move, and although it's invisible, it still makes other things...oh sod it all, _here."_

She yanked the window open and stuck her hand out.

"See?"

Gorix didn't see – what was she trying to accomplish, sticking her hand out of the- wait. The fur on her hand was moving, not much, but very definitely. He leant forward to examine it closer, and Cylara took ahold of his wrist.

"Here, you feel."

As she held his wrist out in the open, Gorix felt something very gently caress his hand. He squinted, but couldn't see anything touching him. He was feeling ever so slightly unsettled, when something clicked in his head. It was like-

"Air conditioning!" he said triumphantly, earning him a weird look from his Cybunny companion.

"I beg your pardon?"

He turned to grin at her.

"Back home on the Station. We have air conditioning units, to keep everything cool. If you're close enough," he pointed to the fur on Cylara's hand, that was rippling in the breeze, "That happens. So, is that wind? Is there a giant air-conditioning unit around here somewhere?"

He peered outside, as if expecting to see one. Cylara laughed and shook her head.

"No, there's no machine. It just happens."

He blinked.

"So, how does it work?"

"Er...there's something called convection currents, I think...hot air rises and cool air falls...I don't really know. Dad could probably tell you. All I know about it is that it's fun to do _this."_

She crossed to a desk that stood in a corner of the room, a big pile of papers on top. Cylara grabbed the nearest unimportant one and began to fold it. A few seconds later, she held up a paper airplane, and, grinning, proceeded to throw it out of the window.

The children watched as it tumbled through the air, then a particularly hard gust of wind caught it side-on and it flipped over and over, before nose-diving into a rosebush in the garden below. Cylara giggled, and started to fold more airplanes. Gorix joined her, and within ten minutes they had a formidable array of airplanes of all shapes and sizes.

They stood side by side at the window, letting the airplanes loose one after another. They twirled and swooped and spiralled through the air in all sorts of patterns as they were tossed about by the wind, landing in all the most unlikeliest of places. Both of the agents went into a fit of giggles when two planes collided in mid-air and dropped like birds felled by a shot into the pond at the bottom of Cylara's garden.

Their giggles were cut short when an annoyed shout rang out from downstairs.

"Oi! Is that you two doing that?"

Caught red-handed, the two exchanged guilty glances before Cylara called down.

"...No."

Gorix grinned in spite of himself. She sounded totally unconvincing. Her father's voice called out from below.

"Right. Well, you two can go out and pick them up. As in, right _now."_

Exchanging a grin, they left the bedroom and hurried down the stairs.

In the living room, Simon sank into an armchair, face in his palm.

"I knew there was a reason I never wanted another child."

* * *

_Yes, Simon, siblings are FAR worse than only children :)_

_And no, this chapter wasn't in the least bit inspired by _Small Soldiers..._What makes you think that? :P_

_I own nada. Except for well, Simon's first name. Because I was gettin' sick of calling him 'Cylara's dad' all the time._

_Shiny button...!_

_Oh yeah, I kept the rating at K because I don't think 'crappy' and 'sod it' are bad words. I mean, _Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy _has the words 'sod it' in it and it's PG. So, yh, I'm pretty sure you guys are mature enough to take it._


	4. Thunderstorms

_Three guesses what this one is about :P_

_I thought I'd put a little Gorix/Cylara flirtiness in here, although it's really not very strong. You could take their holding-hands as friendship or flirting, whichever you like :) (Personally, I say they be flirting. Gorix/Cylara is my OTP :D)_

**

* * *

**

**Chapter 4 – Thunderstorm**

Night. Exhausted from giggling along with Cylara and running around to collect all the airplanes, Gorix had said his goodnights and gone up to his room, falling into a deep, dreamless sleep.

So when he found himself wide awake in a pitch-black bedroom, he didn't have the slightest idea what had woken him.

His first thought was the fact he couldn't hear any of the normal sounds of the Station – the humming of the gravity generators, the groan of the gigantic machine in the centre of the space station that kept the city-sized satellite in space, the echoing footsteps that could be heard from miles away – but then he realised the silence was rather comforting to him.

He wondered a moment longer – then the room shook as what sounded like a muffled explosion rang out from directly above. Instinctively, Gorix pulled the covers up under his chin. He wasn't sure if he'd cried out in shock, and sincerely hoped not. He'd already made a fool of himself enough today in front of Cylara and her family – he didn't want to further embed that image of himself in their minds.

The sound died away, and he tentatively sat up. What could it have been? It sounded like a rock fall of some sort – Gorix had _plenty _of experience with those, growing up in a small mining town on Kreludor – but it made no sense – water could fall from the sky, but _rocks?_

He laid back down. Whatever it was, it was gone now...

Without warning, his room was illuminated in a flash, bright as day. This time, Gorix was pretty sure he'd just squealed like a little girl, having dived under the covers to hide in the comforting blackness. He watched from under the blanket as the room darkened again. He decided to stay there for the remainder of the night, burying his head under his pillow when the muffled explosion rang out again, louder this time.

Something was hammering on his windows, but he didn't want to go see what. He wanted to lay here, in the safe warmth of his duvet, and get back to sleep.

No Chance.

Even before his room lit up again, there came a furious pounding at his door, and someone was calling his name. Cursing in his mind, Gorix reluctantly got out of bed to go and tell Cylara he was alright, she didn't need to come running, and no, he hadn't screamed, what was she talking about?

He didn't quite get that far. He'd managed a, "Cylara, I'm fi-", before she grabbed his hand and yanked him after her, shrieking in excitement.

"Come and see! Come and see! You're missing it!"

Caught by surprise (for the second time in twelve hours), Gorix could only stumble after her, until they came to a stop in front of the landing window, easily the biggest in the house.

Gorix had glanced through it earlier, but he couldn't recall the view being blurred by lots of little droplets of water that were rapping against the windowpane. He realised it must be raining, and felt a little proud of himself for making that connection.

Another explosion rang out, and it seemed even louder here. Gorix flinched away slightly, but Cylara was pressed up against the window, eager and excited and looking like a child at Christmas. She seemed to be counting very quietly.

Suddenly, the night turned to day – only this time, Gorix wasn't afraid. He was too busy staring in awe at the tongue of white fire that had just arced down from the heavens. It was only there a moment, but it was so bright it was burned into his vision for a few seconds.

Cylara had squealed with delight, but before Gorix could ask why another rumbling explosion sounded. Within seconds, the world lit up again as another fork of lightning arced down. Gorix found himself murmuring in awe – this strike had split into two long zig-zags, making cuts across the sky that healed instantaneously.

Gorix's fear had melted away. Cylara wasn't in the slightest bit afraid, and that calmed him. She was holding his hand gently, and he took comfort in that.

Actually, this was kinda fun, sitting on this window ledge, watching the natural firework display that lit up the sky outside.

The sensible and reasonable part of his brain was telling him he should be terrified around about now – but he ignored it. This was far too fun to miss by hiding underneath bedcovers.


	5. Sunshine

_Chapter 5, at last! Not that I have any readers to keep waiting, but hey! rofl._

* * *

**Chapter 5 – Sunshine**

The storm lasted for most of the night, as well as the entire morning. By mid-afternoon, however, it died down. Gorix, who had finally fallen asleep amongst all the racket, had spent much of the day sitting with Cylara on the window ledge, admiring the patterns the lightning strikes made.

They were now sitting there, eating sandwiches and cupcakes off of their laps like a picnic, and Cylara was teaching Gorix a whole host of trivia about thunderstorms.

"They're sometimes called electrical storms, because of the lightning, you know. Oh, did you know, lightning bolts are so powerful they can carry a charge of 1.21 Gigawatts-"

She cut off as a voice called up the stairs.

"Cylara! Gorix! Get your coats on. We're going out."

Gorix looked outside. There had been a distinct lack of thunder and lightning this past hour, but it was still raining.

"In this?"

Simon heard him.

"Yes, in this. But the storm's bypassed Kiko Lake – and, as today is the last day of your holiday, it's about time you actually started it, young man."

Gorix blinked. He hadn't really been paying attention to the exact dates of Cylara's leave – it had been quite depressing to think about, really, before he'd known he was going too, as working as an agent without Cylara to cheerfully annoy him was quite disconcerting – and he hadn't realised that it was, indeed, the last day of the break. But what was this business about 'starting' the holiday?

Gorix shot a questioning look at his partner, who laughed.

"What, you think our weekend on Neopia was going to be hanging around here? Bo-oring!"

Gorix, for the most part, disagreed with her. Yes, it was a little quiet in comparison to the Station; no engines or gabbling tourists, for instance; but it was a nice change. There were a lot of new things to see and to learn about – even something as beautiful as space could become boring if you'd lived there all your life.

He didn't voice any of this, merely putting his last Vanilla and Chocolate Yurble Cupcake into his pocket for later and following Cylara down the stairs. He swung his coat over his shoulders, and followed the Cybunnies as they ducked one by one out into the rain.

The trip was fairly uneventful. They'd had to dash through the rain to get to the Transit Station, and wait for several minutes for one to come along. The grey clouds and rain made any sightseeing through the windows pretty much useless, but there was always Cylara to talk to.

And before long, Gorix became aware of warmth on the back of his neck. He shifted, and the touch wandered over his head and shoulders. He looked around, out through the damp windows, and smiled.

The transit came to a halt and Gorix bounded off of his seat, eager to get off. He didn't notice Cylara's parents exchanged amused glances, or their quiet remarks about how Cylara was having an influence on him.

As the transit doors opened and he stepped out onto soft grass, he closed his eyes and let the sun bathe his face. It felt nice, to just stop and appreciate nature's blessing sometimes.

It took him a few seconds to realise he was holding all the other passengers up as they were trying to get off of the transit. He blushed and jumped aside, then looked up into the sky.

It was a pure, azure blue, unmarred by clouds, with just the molten drop of gold that was the sun hanging in the air. And despite his reputation for being always alert, always worried for the next invasion or attack or betrayal or whatever, Gorix felt calm, and happy. His mouth stretched into a blissful smile.

Cylara tugged on his arm, giggling.

"Come on, silly! We've got a picnic and everything. And don't say we've already eaten – you won't be able to say no once you've seen the nice things we have! Poogle Cupcakes, Neocola, Chocolate Neopets – come on, already, I know the best spot in the whole of Kiko Lake!"

Cylara's mother laughed lightly.

"Sweetheart, are you going to let him look around, first? He's never been here before, remember?"

Cylara looked crushed.

"B-But...our picnic..."

Her mother grinned.

"It'll still be here when we get back."

Cylara sighed, defeated, when Gorix spoke up.

"Actually, I wouldn't mind having a bite to eat. Then I could walk it off when we go exploring."

Cylara grinned at him and smiled triumphantly at her parents.

"See? He says yes. Let's go!"

She yanked on Gorix's arm as she broke into a sprint. For once, Gorix was expecting it, and kept his balance, running alongside her.

At first he found it hard to run; he was used to the solid metal of the Station, not the soft and springy grass. But he soon found his feet, and took off after Cylara, who was well ahead by now. She looked over her shoulder with a laugh.

"Bet I can beat you!"

In his joy at running and being in the sun and not having to worry for once, Gorix let loose a childish yell.

"I don't think so!"

He charged off after her, and Cylara laughed, running even faster.

Her parents stood watching, vaguely amused expressions on their faces. After a while, Cylara's mother turned to Simon.

"Do you think they've forgotten that we're the ones carrying the picnic?"

Simon merely shrugged.

"They're children, Stella, dear. They're too busy having fun to think of that."

He held out an arm for his wife to take. She took it, smiling, and the pair of them set off after the laughing friends at a leisurely, peaceful stroll.

* * *

_Aw, cuteness. Oh, and high five to anyone who got the Back to the Future reference (even though it was totally obvious)._


	6. Seaside

_Hehe, clever me managed to delete this chapter off of the site. Re-uploaded._

_Okay, not so much a form of weather, but I wanted to carry on with the whole family-trip-out thing, which led to me pretty much penning the description of an average day out to the beach that me and my family used to take. As such, I see Kiko Lake as a very much British beach - pleasant enough, but the water is FREEZING._

_Disclaimer: I don't own Neopets, Gorix, Cylara, Kiko Lake or Yurble Cupcakes. _

* * *

**Chapter 6 - Seaside**

Cylara sprinted across the grass, laughing over her shoulder at Gorix.

"Is that the best you can do?"

Gorix grinned, putting on a burst of speed that put him level with the Cybunny. He was getting used to running over grass by now. He wasn't, however, prepared for when the grass thinned out and became sand. He stumbled at the change in surface and skid – falling and landing face-first on the beach.

He sat up, spitting out sand. Ugh, it left a horrible gritty aftertaste to his mouth. Cylara wasn't helping, holding her sides laughing at him, but she did offer him a helping hand, which he took.

She grinned at him.

"That hungry, huh? Have a little patience – then you can eat sand_wiches _instead of just sand."

He was so annoyed, he found himself doing something he hadn't done since he was a little kid. He stuck his tongue out at her. It probably would have had a better effect if it hadn't been covered in sand, making her laugh harder.

Cylara smiled, then turned and dashed off again, heading for the best picnic spot on the beach. She slowed and stopped when he realised the Grundo wasn't running alongside her. She looked around to see him still standing where he'd fallen, staring off in another direction, a peculiar expression on his face. She jogged back.

"Gorix?"

He didn't answer, his gaze caught by something. He was looked both awed and astonished in the same moment, and his eyes were glittering with a sort of childish delight. She followed his gaze.

"What are you looking at?"

It seemed a perfectly ordinary early-evening beach scene to her – sand stretching out before them, a few seagulls pecking at the sand. An orange Jubjub walking his Doglefox. And then, after that, the – oh.

She looked back at her companion, smiling. Her voice was soft.

"I keep forgetting. You've never seen the sea before, have you?"

Gorix shook his head numbly.

"Arial photographs, a few stories about it, but no, never myself."

It was really quite beautiful, now Cylara looked. It glittering and perfect, almost glowing in the evening sun. She looked back at her friend, whose voice was strained.

"It's just so...I mean, I knew it was big, but I never thought it would..."

He made a gesture towards the horizon, and Cylara giggled.

"That it would it would stretch out as far as the eye can see? Further still, in fact."

Gorix nodded, and his arm dropped to his side. Cylara smiled.

Her fingers wound around his, and she gave his hand a friendly squeeze as they stood, both watching the waves.

* * *

_I wanted to convey the feeling of seeing the sea for the first time, but I might not have managed it very well as I've grown up in houses that are practically on the beach themselves._

_Also, how the hell do you spell 'arial' when talking about stuff from the sky? I know the 'Ariel' spelling is for bike manufacturers and Disney princesses, but 'Arial' is a font. I've tried Googling it, no definition. Anybody know?_

_Feel free to review :D_


	7. Zephyr

**_EDIT 2: _I've decided, through people's advice both in real life and via reviews and emails, that this is going to be the final chapter. Otherwise, it'll go on too long and everybody'll get bored. Mostly, however, it's due to time conflictions and the fact my final exams are coming up in a few months, so I'm going to have to revise. This fic is not necessarily complete, but for now, at least, it's on hold. Hope you've enjoyed reading it.**

**Oh, and I've left what would have been Chapter 8 online because I'm pretty proud of it and also because I've lost the original word file I typed it on. The online version is my only copy.**

**_EDIT: I changed the name of the chapter and a few lines in it to refer to a zephyr, which is defined on Google as a 'light breeze, usually refreshing.' I always thought it was some sort of precious stone. I guess you learn something new every day!_**

_Another chapter where it's not exactly weather. But I had to describe their day on the beach. I got really nostalgic writing this! It reminds me of all those days in summers when I was a kid, on the beach with my sister. Ah, memories. :)_

**Disclaimer: **Characters aren't mine. Names of Cylara's parents are, however.

**Chapter Seven – Zephyr**

Gorix flopped back onto the sandy grass, Cylara joining him with a happy sigh. It had been a very busy evening.

After standing and watching the waves for a few quiet minutes, Cylara had pulled him towards the sea, giggling. He hung back, slightly nervous, and watched as she rolled up the legs of her loose trousers. Gorix blinked.

"Lara, what are you-"

With a playful shriek, she charged into the oncoming waves, leaping over them and squealing. The Grundo watched her from the shore, completely perplexed. Cylara's parents reached him, and her father chuckled.

"She never was one to resist the sea, our Cylara."

Gorix tilted his head in confusion as Cylara stumbled, almost falling face-first into the surf the way Gorix had fallen into the sand, but she regained her balance and laughed. The young Grundo looked up at Simon.

"Is the screaming mandatory?"

The older Cybunny laughed, adjusting the glasses on his nose.

"If you're Cylara it is. Now you go have some fun. We'll be setting up the picnic over there, on that little hill."

He pointed to somewhere behind Gorix and the young man looked around, seeing a small mound of sand and grass, where Cylara's mother had just reached the top and was setting out blankets to sit on.

Simon went to join her, and Gorix looked back at the waves. Although it was hardly dignified, Cylara did look like she was having the time of her life out there. He looked down at the water.

It was lapping his shoes, and he noticed that it seemed slightly frothy, and was full of gleaming pebbles. Wincing at the idea of stepping on those, Gorix untied his shoes and left them on a dry patch of sand, then rolled up his trousers the way Cylara had done.

Then he stepped into the waves.

Almost instantly, he leapt backwards with a yell.

"Gah! It's freezing!"

Cylara ran over to him, laughing. He winced as her excited movements sent cold splashes of water over his bare legs.

"What did you expect from Kiko Lake, silly?"

He was amazed she wasn't flinching, she was ankle-deep in the water and it had to _hurt. _And yet she was simply grinning, unconcerned. He supposed that once you got running around in it, it didn't hurt so much.

Taking a precautionary breath, Gorix stepped into the water. At once, he wanted to get back out. It felt like dozens of tiny icy daggers were prickling his feet, and it was hard to find a bit of sand where there wasn't a jagged pebble to dig into his unprotected feet.

He glared sidelong at Cylara, who was watching him and giggling. It only got worse as Gorix waded further in. Now it felt like his ankles and shins were being attacked by miniature claws. The breeze, which had been refreshing on the beach, now suddenly felt like a sheet of ice on his legs. He looked up at her rather pathetically.

"How can you stand it?"

She grinned, tugging his arm.

"By moving about in it, you plonker! You get used to it. Now come on!"

And she pulled him into the waves. Strangely, Gorix had found he enjoyed it, once the stinging pains had finally gone, and if he didn't stray too close to Cylara, who kept attempting to splash him. There were things to learn, like how to avoid sharp rocks and the patches of seaweed that wound around his legs and made it hard to balance, and the fact the seawater, when it splashed onto his lips, made him thirsty. Salt water! Who would have thought it? And when he found himself timing his jumps over the waves with Cylara, a joyful laugh escaped him.

And then Cylara's mother had called out to them and they stumbled out onto wet sand, soaked and shivering in the chilly wind. Gorix retrieved his shoes, but merely carried them in one hand. The cold was easily cured by jogging up to the small hill and sitting, huddled in blankets, eating all sorts of food that Gorix knew was hardly healthy for them, but it tasted so good he didn't care. Then he remembered the cupcake in his pocket and pulled it out. A little battered, but edible.

He'd sat on a rock and shared it with Cylara as she started to fiddle about in a small pit filled with damp sand. Gorix had asked her what she was doing, and she'd answered that she was building a sandcastle.

That had confused him – why build a castle here? This entire beach wasn't big enough, and she surely couldn't build an entire castle by herself, much less out of a flimsy material like sand. Far from being stable and suitable, the light breeze alone could send it scattering. He'd pointed it out to her, and she'd laughed, saying lots of people built castles here, pointing out a few strange lumps and bumps along the beach.

Gorix went to examine them, and found they weren't the coastal fortifications he'd been expecting. Some were small, crude mounds, but others were perfectly square, with little crenulations on the top, some even with carefully hollowed out moats. One even had towers like Brightvale castle, in miniature.

He wandered back to where Cylara was, and watched with interest. She didn't seem to have any particular plan for the structure of her castle, but she seemed happy enough. After a while, Gorix knelt down beside her and started to pile up sand according to her directions.

It took them an hour under the warm sun, shielding it from the wind with their backs, and the finished result was hardly a defensive wonder, as it was slightly bigger on one side than the other and as such looked pretty wonky, but Gorix felt foolishly proud of their little creation. Cylara beamed at him.

"Now we decorate it!"

He'd blinked up at her.

"Decorate?"

She pulled him up, made him follow her down to the shore.

"With seashells! And seaweed, and little twigs, and whatever else we can find!"

He tilted his head.

"Why?"

She giggled.

"For the fun of it! Now come on!"

He copied her in collecting lots of little shells and bits of seaweed, and they walked back and forth from the hill to the edge of the water, with armfuls of the things. After three trips, Gorix had sat down in the sand and started to arrange the shells in patterns on the sand.

Catching his reflection in the inside of a particularly shiny shell, he grinned at himself goofily. Here he was, one of the saviours of Neopia, an agent feared by the Virtupets for his superior aim, – who else had managed to shoot Ylana Skyfire in the eye from across a crowded room? – sitting in the sand, making sandcastles. It was laughable, really.

He heard Cylara call his name and sat up, brushing his hair out of his eyes. She was running up the hill toward him, holding just a single shell. It was pretty spectacular, however – about the size of her fist, with a shiny pearlescent lip and a spiral of horned shell on top.

She held it out to him and he took it with interest. Cylara giggled.

"Hold it to your ear. You can hear the sea!"

He gave her a funny look.

"I already can. It's down there."

She laughed again, brushing her brown hair out of her eyes.

"No, silly. Just do it, okay?"

Hesitantly, Gorix held the shell up to his ear. He supposed he could hear a faint _woosh_ noise, but wasn't that just an echo of the sea itself? Cylara seemed disappointed with his reaction and put her hands on her hips, lips forming a childish pout.

"Fine, don't get in a tizz about it. Daddy, can we take it home with us?"

Simon and Stella were standing, packing away the leftovers. Her mother looked up and answered.

"I don't see why not. Here, put it in my handbag, it'll be safe there. Now, dear, we're going to have a look around the shops. Are you two coming?"

Gorix flopped back onto the sandy grass with a sigh.

"If it's all the same to you, ma'am, I'm okay right here."

Cylara joined him, putting her hands behind her head.

"Yeah, me too."

Stella raised an eyebrow.

"Are you sure? It's the last day, after all. You might be missing things."

There was a pause, in which the teenagers looked at each other. In unison, they shook their heads.

"Nah, we're cool."

Her mother smiled.

"Okay, we'll see you in a while. Don't wander off, alright? Stay by the hill."

When they assured her they would, she stepped down off the hill with her husband, and they walked off towards the buildings in the distance, talking quietly. Cylara watched them go with a smile.

"Every time we come here, they go look around the shops. And every time they do, the shops stock exactly the same things. They're crazy. We're not missing much, trust me."

Gorix grinned at the sky. It was tinged pink now, something that he'd learned from Cylara meant the sun was going down. The breeze had died down slightly, barely lifting Cylara's hair. They lay there in the calm warmth for a while before he spoke up.

"Hey, Lara?"

Her answer was lazy – she had closed her eyes.

"Yeah?"

"Thanks. Thanks for inviting me down here. I guess living on Neopia is kind of fun after all."

She laughed, rolling over onto her front and grinning at him.

"You're welcome. But what did you think it was like?"

He shrugged.

"Well, I heard you don't have robot petpets, and I had to explain to your father what computers were that one time. By my reckoning, living on Neopia would be a whole lot of hard work."

She considered his words, fiddling with a strand of her sandy hair.

"I suppose you're right. There's a lot more mod-cons up on the Station, but we've got all this pretty weather."

There was a pause, before Gorix sat up.

"No, I'm serious. Thank you."

Cylara gave him a slightly weird look, raising an eyebrow.

"And so am I."

Gorix shook his head, aware he wasn't getting his meaning across.

"No, no what I mean is...is thanks...for inviting *me*. You could've invited anyone, anybody at all, and you chose me."

Cylara was giving him a knowning look.

"Let me guess. You wanna know why."

Gorix shrugged, feeling embarrassed.

"Well...yes."

Cylara looked out over the water, shaking her head softly as she grinned.

"You're a plonker, you know that? You're right, I could've chosen anyone. Any of my friends here on Neopia, anyone on the Station. But I chose you because...well, I wanted to show you this place. You told me yourself, you've never been to Neopia. And although we haven't got the money to give you a proper, world-wide tour, I wanted to show you just a little bit. You showed me your home, the Station, how it works, the life of an agent. I wanted...to show you what being a civilian is like. What being a child is like."

Gorix blinked at her.

"But why *me*?"

The young Cybunny made a sound of frustration in her throat, turning to regard him.

"Geez, you're so *slow* at times. Because you're the closest friend I have, Gorix! Because you're my best friend!"

The blue Grundo felt his face warm, and to his shame he realised he was blushing. With an awkward cough, he looked away.

"Um, right. Best friends. We're best friends...is that what we are?"

Cylara laughed, a beautiful, peaceful laugh.

"Yes."

A moment of silence, in which she regarded him in slight confusion as to why he didn't look back at her. Then she laughed again.

"Oh, I get it. Fyora, don't start saying stuff like that in front of my Mom. She's been looking to play match-maker for ages now, please don't give her a target."

Gorix squirmed, uncomfortable. The casual way Cylara said that, about the topic of them being in a romantic relationship, disarmed him slightly.

"No, that's not it, I was just, uh, trying to work out...what you are to me."

He coughed again, nervously, as Cylara gave him a puzzled look.

"No, no, damn, I can't say this right. What I mean is, we're...close...and I just want to know where I stand. You know I haven't had much time to make friends, or be a normal kid..."

"Ah."

Cylara leant back on her haunches and smiled at him.

"Okay, I guess that's pretty reasonable. As for where we stand, I'm still trying to work that one out myself. I see you as my best friend and all, but I'm see-sawing between whether I think you're cute or whether you make an adorable little brother."

Gorix laughed.

"I'm older than you."

She snorted, her wicked grin in place.

"Details. Age is irrelevant in this case. You still make an awesome, if annoying, little brother."

He grinned, relaxing back onto the sand. The sky was turning gold, now, and he watched it, entranced. The slight touch of fur against his arm told him Cylara had laid back down beside him. It was beautiful, this sunset. He'd be going back to the station in the morning, but he was no longer looking forward to it. Much as it was surprising to admit, he liked it down here. Maybe Neopia was a better place to live after all.

* * *

Crappy ending, but I couldn't think how to finish it! Ah, well. Review if you like!

**EDIT: **


	8. Bonus: Fog

**_edit_: Okay, this is a 'bonus' chapter that has been removed from the story. The reason for this is that several people have told me through reviews/real life, that Chapter 7 is a pretty good ending in its own right, or it will be if a tweak it a little. I'm keeping this chapter up because I'm still pretty proud of it, and who knows, I might write more chapters or develop this into a sequel. I think my A-Level exams are a bit more important right now, however, as they decide whether or not I'm going to university.**

_Yay, I finally got around to writing another chapter!_

_But this one's a little dark, because I noticed that this story is pretty much a narrative of childhood memories of mine, which is probably boring the socks off of any readers who've got this far. So I decided to boost the plot (ha! What plot?) along a little by making a reference to Gorix's own family, and my personal idea of how they don't appear in the plot, or any of the Neopedia pages._

_Warning: Yes, this is going to have references to deaths in it. A little dark for Neopets, perhaps, but I felt that was the most realistic way of expressing it. It also makes Sloth sound a hell of a lot eviler._

_Now I've gone all depressing on you, it's time for the Disclaimer! I own nothing :D_

* * *

**Chapter Eight- Fog**

They returned back to the Cybunnies' home that evening, with the promise that they'd return to Kiko Lake the next morning. It was faintly depressing to come back to the clouds and drizzle, but Gorix thought of the sun over the Lake and smiled happily. When the morning came, however, Gorix emerged from his bedroom, yawning, to find Cylara's mother hauling a suitcase across the landing. He stepped forward to help her, and looked questioningly at it.

Stella looked up in surprise.

"Oh, thank you dear. This is for our trip today – we'll be spending the weekend in Brightvale, didn't Cylara tell you?"

The young Grundo blinked in surprise, and tilted his head in confusion.

"But I thought...Kiko Lake..."

"We've got to go to Kiko Lake to catch the ferry to Brightvale, silly!"

Gorix turned awkwardly whilst still carrying the heavy suitcase at the sound of Cylara's voice. She was already up and dressed, munching on one of the leftover Strawberry Poogle Cupcakes. Cylara's mother narrowed her eyes.

"Cylara, please tell me _that_ isn't your breakfast."

The teenage Cybunny smiled goofily, getting strawberry icing on her nose as she did so.

"Dad said I could. It was the last one, and we couldn't let it go all stale and horrible now, could we?"

Stella rolled her eyes and muttered something under her breath about Simon being a pushover. Gorix hid his grin by leaning down and letting his hair fall over his face, under the pretence of adjusting his grip on the suitcase. He looked up at his friend.

"So, Brightvale? That's the land of castles and windows, isn't it?"

Cylara nodded excitedly.

"Yep, we're going to do the whole tourist-y thing and have a tour around the castle, and spin the Wheel of Knowledge, and-"

She stopped in her rambling suddenly as she stared at Gorix, then cracked up laughing.

"You're not even dressed yet!"

With a blush, Gorix realised that he was, indeed, still wearing his fluffy sky-blue pyjamas that were slightly too big for him. He suddenly felt rather like a small child in them, and hid his embarrassment by concentrating on carrying the suitcase to Stella and Simon's bedroom and heading back to his own to get dressed. Cylara was outside, still giggling. As she came in to help him pack his own bags for the journey, Gorix decided not to tell her she still had icing all over her face.

* * *

The journey to Kiko Lake was, again, uneventful, with not even a ray of sunshine breaking through the cloud cover over the land. Even as they arrived, there were more clouds than clear patches overhead, and the sun was weak even when it did peek out from behind a cloud.

It was hard to feel depressed with Cylara bounding along with her seemingly endless energy. She kept tugging on Gorix's arm excitedly to try to get him to walk faster – a difficult feat, seeing as he was lugging along the heavy bag she'd packed for him.

Eventually, they reached a pier, which looked older than time itself with all its gnarled timbers worn away by constant laps of the waves. There were a few gaps between the planks, which made Gorix slightly nervous, but the rest of the group walked across them as casual as could be, so Gorix followed with only a few anxious glances at the frothing sea below.

A friendly Kiko captain stopped them and asked if they had booked passage, because otherwise it would cost a few thousand Neopoints to cross the water. Simon assured him they had, and a few minutes went past in which Cylara's father confirmed who they were and Gorix stared out over the ocean, marvelling at how big it was and how grey it looked.

The Kiko led them onto a small, rickety boat, with a trapdoor in the deck leading down to a galley, a few cabins and a storeroom that smelled strongly of fish. Gorix staggered a little as a wave rocked the boat, and clung onto the rail for safety. Nevertheless, he was fascinated – he was actually going to cross the water!

"How long will the crossing be?" he asked the Captain, whose eyes seemed to twinkle merrily as he answered.

"About three hours, if the weather keeps up. You can stay on the deck out here, if you'd like, although there's not much sightseeing to be done."

Gorix thanked him and stood at the railing, looking out over the water. It was a little bumpy, standing here on the deck, but as long as he held the railing, he felt safe. Cylara joined him, but for once she was silent, merely admiring the view as he was. As the boat was prepared and untied, Gorix felt Cylara slip her arm through his. With a small smile, Gorix looked back out, noticing that some of the clouds seemed so low, the boat would pass through them. He pointed these out to Cylara, and she grinned.

"Well, you're almost right. It's fog."

Of course, that lead to a full explanation, with Gorix asking how clouds stayed up in the sky in the first place, and it was a bit of a surprise when Stella suddenly called to them from the trapdoor, asking if they'd like hot chocolates.

Gorix looked back, and found to his shock that Kiko Lake had disappeared into the gray. He hadn't even realised the boat was moving. After the pair of them had expressed a 'thanks, but no thanks' – and received a surprised look from Cylara's mother – the teenagers turned back to the sea, wondering if they could see Brightvale already. To Gorix, all that was ahead of him were a bunch of grey shadows in the mist.

As Stella disappeared back below deck, Gorix murmured quietly.

"Your parents are really nice."

Cylara smiled.

"I know, but they can be a little annoying sometimes."

There was a pause, before the young Cybunny girl looked at him, her face set in a frown.

"Gorix?"

"Yeah?"

He looked at her; she was biting her lip, nervous.

"I've never thought to ask this before, but what are your parents like?"

Gorix felt his grin falter. He averted his gaze, staring down into the grey sea. His happy mood had suddenly plummeted.

"I don't have any."

Cylara made a little shocked noise and she grabbed his hand.

"Oh, Gorix, I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to- I mean, I never really thought about it, but-"

He looked back up at her scandalised face and managed a small smile.

"It's okay. Really. I can't really remember them, anyway. I was only seven when they, um..."

He could practically see the cogs turning in her head as she worked out when he'd become an orphan.

"Oh."

Gorix swallowed awkwardly.

"Yeah. When Sloth took my people prisoner, I got separated from my parents. He wanted to keep all the children for his more...delicate experiments. We-we didn't all make it. When the Resistance rescued us, when Sloth was defeated, Valka set many of the members to looking through the records, tracking down the test subjects. They found a list of those who'd died during experimentation and- and both my parents were on it."

There was a soft sigh, and he turned to Cylara to see her eyes sparkling with tears.

"I'm so sorry."

Gorix shrugged, wanting to move away from this subject.

"It's alright. I still feel really sad about it sometimes, but I can't go back and change it, no matter how much I'd like to. Sloth killed my parents, that's that. His too. Which is why I still don't understand why he-"

He cut himself off, that train of thought far too painful to follow. He forced a chuckle.

"But I was trying to pay your family a compliment, wasn't I?"

Cylara nodded, her fingers giving his hand a squeeze. After a second, he squeezed her hand back to show he had no hard feelings. She hadn't known, and it was a perfectly innocent question.

To change the subject, Gorix asked if Cylara had ever been to Brightvale before, sparking her into action as she gabbled excitedly that she hadn't, no, but she'd seen it from the border of Meridell before, and it had looked very grand and beautiful in comparison to Skarl's Kingdom. She then went on to describe the various foods and games of Meridell, and Gorix listened, knowing she was trying to make him forget about Sloth for a while. He was grateful for that. His fingers tightened around hers.

* * *

_Okay, that was a depressing end to a chapter. No prizes for guessing who the mystery 'he' is..._

_Review if you'd like._


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